was wandering thru ebay looking for a nice steel or brass/bronze ball about 2 in. in diameter with a 3/4 to 1.0in. hole thru it to make a stick out of for myself.
didn't find the ball but i did find this a week or so ago: auction ended with no bidders. relisted at about £30 lower (US$40) auction terminated in my favour this afternoon (again, no other bidders):
vendor's description:
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a long length, heavy antique, hand carved wooden ethnographic, Knobkerrie war club
Origin: Believed to be Zulu
Measures 93 cm long, steel ball diameter 56 mm, maximum shaft diameter 29.5 mm
Weight 835 grams
Hand carved from a natural tree branch, hand carved decoration to the handle end of the club, the handle fitted with a heavy cast steel ball and on the narrow end of the club with a steel cap
Very good original condition, slight natural curve to the wood, no splits or cracks, no woodworm
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i seriously doubt it's zulu tho, have no real idea where it may be from, but it oughta do for patting the moat monsters on the head, they are a bit thick there.
looks like it needs a bath to get the blood stains off.
usually calling something 'zulu' brings up visions of rourke's drift and michael caine and adds bucks to prices, but this is so unlike the normal all-wood zulu head knockers that i think it put real collecters off. this one is not for my zulu wing in the castle tho, it's for more mundane walks thru the parks and urban jungles.